Art Hag

Ivan Navarro | Paul Kasmin

Chilean artist, Ivan Navarro, created luminous fluorescent light sculptures based on the floor plans of famous skyscrapers from around the world.  Heaven or Las Vegas, the artist's first solo exhibition at Paul Kasmin Gallery, features spaceship-like, neon light sculptures inspired by the layout of iconic towers including Dubai's The Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Hong Kong's The Center, Guangzhou's Citic Plaza, and New York City's Flatiron Building, Empire State Building, and Twin Towers.

Cleverly combining light and mirrors, Navarro creates an experience of "looking up into the interior elevation of each building," (from the press release).  In the center of each work, the artist has etched a single word including SWAY, SURRENDER, RHYME, RIVAL, ABANDON—haunting instructions or commands to contemplate as you are taken in by the mesmerizing works. 

Born in Santiago, Chile in 1972, Navarro is currently based in Brooklyn.  The artist is known for his "socio-politically charged" neon and fluorescent sculptures.  Earlier this month, Navarro exhibited his radiant and massive The Armory Fence at this year's Armory show.  Learn more about Heaven or Las Vegas at Paulkasmingallery.com.  Through April 2nd.

Decay (Lake Point Tower), 2011

Untitled (Empire State), 2011

Sway (Grand Gateway), 2011

Desert (Columbia Center), 2011

Untitled (Twin Towers), 2011, Shelter (The Center), 2011

Untitled (Sears Tower), 2011

Rhyme, Rival (Jumeirah Emirates Towers), 2011

Want (Citic Plaza), 2011

Surrender (Flatiron), 2011

Sze Tsung Leong | Yossi Milo

Sze Tsung Leong travels the world and shoots a diverse range of "urban formations" which he documents in his ongoing photographic series, Cities.  On view at Yossi Milo, Cities was started in 2002, capturing "expansive views and sharply defined detail that simultaneously render a range of scales, from the large to the small, and reflect how each city is an intersection of the monumental scales of civilization and society, and the more intimate scale of daily life," (from the show's press release). 

Taken from elevated vantage points, the photographs depict vast, congested cities like minaturized models or toy houses.  Unique views of Amman, Jordan; Antwerp, Belgium; Havana, Cuba; La Paz, Bolivia; Nagasaki, Japan; Nairobi, Kenya; Paris, France; Seoul, South Korea, and many more, showcase sprawling landscapes jampacked with touches of nature and historic structures surrounded by contemporary homes, skyscrapers, highways, cars, construction cranes, and occasionally puny, ant-sized people.  For example, an ancient amphitheater neighbors modern apartment buildings in Amman, and a Medieval cathedral juts skyward in contemporary Ghent.  As the press release for the exhibit points out, "the photographs show the diverse forms and typologies that compose cities—the geometries of city planning, zoning layouts, street patterns, open spaces, monuments, towers, developments, churches, mosques, houses, offices."

Currently based in New York, Leong was born in Mexico City in 1970 and has lived in Mexico, Britain, and the United States.  His photographs of sprawling, cramped, continually developing urban environments give viewers an eyeful of stunning perspectives from around the world.  Learn more at Yossimilo.com and at the artist's website Szetsungleong.com.  Through April 2nd.

La Paz, 2010

La Habana Vieja I, 2010

La Merced, Quito, 2010

St Baafskathedraal, Gent, 2009

lle de la Cite I, Paris, 2008

Guanajuato I, 2009

Jebel Al-Jofeh, Amman, 2007

Kowloon, Hong Kong, 2008

Alameda, Mexico D.F., 2009

Wei Dong | Nicholas Robinson Gallery

The barely clothed women featured in Wei Dong's paintings oddly pose languidly and serenely even though they are being tormented and tortured.  Wei's new works, on view at the Nicholas Robinson Gallery, inspired by Old Masters including Vermeer and Parmigianino, reflect and satirize "the social mores of both the Maoist era in China, and its legacies within contemporary China" (from the press release).

Growing up on a military academy in Maoist China, Wei was drawn to religious paintings he found in  banned Western art books.  As the artist states, "Anything prohibited interested me back then..."  Being surrounded by people dressed in gender-concealing Mao uniforms influenced the artist's "perception of gender, sexuality and the body."  The artist admits his "obsession with female sexuality and attentiveness to flesh" compel him to explore his desires and "challenge cultural and social constructions."  Wei's  figures are modern day martyrs placidly and indifferently enduring their plights as if abuse and humiliation are common occurrences.  Learn more at nrgallery.com.  Through March 26th.

Mahjong #1, 2010

Hearing #2, 2009

Story #1, 2010

The Hunting Field #2, 2009

The Mystery #1, 2010

Girl with the Ducks #3, 2009-2010

Sisters #1, 2008

The Newlywed #2, 2010

Pat Steir | Cheim & Read

Pat Steir presents a group of her recent "waterfall" paintings at Cheim & Read in an exhibition titled Winter Paintings.  The works were created using Steir's signature technique of pouring paint onto a canvas and allowing it to flow downward and set organically.

Steir carefully selects and mixes her colors "and from there begins a meditative process of pouring, dripping or splashing, patiently waiting as each paint layer reveals itself," (from the exhibit's press release).  Many of the works are divided in two, with different colors poured onto the two halves of the canvases allowing the paintings to "interact at the center line, sometimes merging, sometimes exposing their divide."  Since Steir's paintings are "a collaboration with gravity," each work is truly unique and inimitable as the artist states, "I can't replicate it even if I know what happened.  That's the pleasure of it."  Learn more at Cheimread.com and see my post from last year on Steir's wall drawing The Nearly Endless Line here.  Winter Paintings closes March 26th.

Winter Group 4:  Green, Gold, Red and Blue, 2009-2011

Winter Group 2:  Yellow, Gold and Red Gold, 2009-2011

Winter Group 3:  Red, Green, Blue and Gold, 2009-2011

Valentine, 2009-2011

Hiraki Sawa | James Cohan Gallery

Hiraki Sawa's installation O immerses viewers in a serene, dreamy environment that "abstracts the notion of time by the simultaneous depiction of interior and exterior spaces, meditations on the moon and the earth, and suggestions of the present and distant past," (from show's press release).  On view at the James Cohan Gallery, the sound and video installation consists of three large-scale projections displaying beautiful images of vast landscapes and ocean scenes, flocks of flying birds, and the interior of an unoccupied house accented with the artist's animations of birds, a moon, a ferris wheel, and a rustling tree.  Ten small monitors scattered throughout the darkened main gallery play black-and-white videos of everyday items like a bell, cup, mug, pitcher, lightbulb, and top spinning around and around as if possessed by an otherwordly force.  All the trance-like imagery is hauntingly punctuated by audio emanating from custom-built speakers.  Created by the Organ Octet, minature organs soundtrack the larger projections while the sounds of tinny or ceramic objects whirling on hard surfaces accompany the smaller screens.

The Japanese-born, London-based Sawa's elegant and meditative work converys both natural and supernatural elements, creating an enchanting and mesmerizing atmosphere.  Learn more at Jamescohan.com.  Through March 26th.

O, 2009

O, 2009

O, 2009

O, 2009

O, 2009

O, 2009

O, 2009

O, 2009

Los Carpinteros at Sean Kelly & Cabaret at Ramis Barquet

Two shows worth checking out before they close on Saturday are Los Carpinteros at the Sean Kelly Gallery and the Cabaret group show at Ramis Barquet. 

The Cuban duo Los Carpinteros' Rumba Muerta presents three sculptural installations that address the idea of transformation, whether via physical change or a shift in "meaning, interpretation and function" (from show's press release).  Luces del Estadio del Pueblo (People's Stadium Lights) consists of two mini versions of glaring stadium lights.  The work was inspired by Havana's PanAmerican stadium built in 1991 for the PanAmerican Games.  The stadium was supposed to symbolize "economic strength" but became a sad reminder of the country's finanicial difficulties during the 90s.  The imposing lights represent "the perennial threat of observation in totalitarian regimes."  Cuarteto features melting musical instruments - drums, congas, and a standup bass - serving as "a metaphor for the psychological meltdown of individuals in some constrained societies."  Sala de Lectura Ovalada is a massive, wooden, ten-foot-tall "reading room" without books.  The structure is modeled after a panopticon prison—an 18th century design which allowed a centrally positioned prison guard to observe prisoners without being visible.  The installation "references ideas about confinement through the control of individuals and information."  Learn more at skny.com. 

Over at Ramis Barquet is Cabaret, a group exhibition that examines politics vs art and art/entertainment serving as an escape from the world's political woes.  Works by artists Aziz and Cucher, Simon Bedwell, Dineo Bopape, Delia Brown, Kathe Burkhart, Arch Connelly, Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, Jorg Immendorff, Jose Clemente Orozco, Jose Posada, Hunter Reynolds and Maxine Henryson, Robert Mapplethorpe, Mika Rottenberg, Laurie Simmons, and Jack Smith "can't help but be political due to a certain social outrageousness..."  Learn more at Ramisbarquet.com.  Both Rumba Muerta and Cabaret close March 19th.

Sean Kelly Gallery

Los Carpinteros, Luces del estadio del Pueblo, 2011

Los Carpinteros, Cuarteto, 2011

Los Carpinteros, Sala de Lectura Ovalada, 2011

Los Carpinteros, Sala de Lectura Ovalada (interior), 2011

Ramis Barquet Gallery

Laurie Simmons, The Music of Regret (Meryl), 2006

Kathe Burkhart, Twat:  From the Liz Taylor Series (Taming of the Shrew), 1995

Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, After Marilyn Monroe got biatchslapped by flying hotdogs in Mahler Gobi desert, Grass Mud Horse invites her for a beer pong game..., 2011

Arch Connelly, Self-Portrait VII, 1987

Jorg Immendorff, Ohne Titel, 2006

Jose Clemente Orozco, Mujeres balando (De la series Casas de lagrimas), ca 1913

Simon Bedwell, Death, you know what? It's OK

Tara Donovan | The Pace Gallery

Tara Donovan's new large-scale drawings on view at The Pace Gallery are composed of thousands and thousands of nickel-plated steel pins carefully arranged and pushed into white gatorboard.  The stunning abstract images and circular patterns create an optical effect—"visual field[s] with shifting viewpoints..." that "radiate from different light sources (determined by the density of pins on the surface area)" (from the show's press release).

Born in Flushing, New York in 1969, the Brooklyn-based artist received the MacArthur "Genius" Award in 2008.  Donovan's meticulous Drawings (Pins) vibrantly play with light and shadow.  The amazing works initially appear like charcoal drawings from afar, while closer up the clusters of tiny pinheads practically glitter and sparkle.  Learn more at thepacegallery.com.  Closes March 19th.

Drawing (Pins), 2010

Drawing (Pins), 2010

Drawing (Pins), 2010, close-up

Drawing (Pins), 2010

Drawing (Pins), 2010

Drawing (Pins), 2010, close-up

 

Marcel Dzama | David Zwirner

Marcel Dzama's Behind Every Curtain brings to life the artist's magical world of a balletic and murderous game of chess.  Upon entering David Zwirner's 525 West 19th Street space, visitors are greeted by a series of Dzama's detailed, richly colored drawings and three twirling sculptures—two large-scale chess pieces, a rook and the White Queen, and a life-size, masked, female assassin.  The next room presents a group of pain-stakingly detailed dioramas and a whimsical carousel of charming, retro-looking puppets made from tin and ceramics (Turning into Puppets [Volviendose Marionetas], 2011) flailing their limbs and clanking away as they revolve in a circle.  The final, darkened room shows Dzama's fourteen-minute film, A Game of Chess, filmed in Guadalajara, Mexico. 

The film, inspired by the mechanical movements, puppetry, elaborate costumes, and checkerboard dance floor of Bauhaus artist Oskar Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet (1922), "features characters based on the classic game of chess," (from the show's press release).  Dressed in masks and intricate costumes made from papier-mache, plaster, and fiberglass, the characters dance on a checkered floor in Dzama's treacherous chess game. Dzama's meticulous drawings and dioramas on display represent scenes and segments of the film and include a full storyboard for A Game of Chess.  Influences of the film's location, Guadalajara, such as "local crafts and religious traditions," can be found in the works.  On the opening night and at selected times during the exhibition, a mariachi band played live music based on the film's soundtrack. 

Inspired by dance, Dada, and Marcel Duchamp, the Winnipeg-born, Brooklyn-based Dzama illustrates a vivid world populated by a huge, colorful cast engaged in a carefully orchestrated, stylish battle.  Learn more at Davidzwirner.com and read a Q&A with the artist at artinfo.com.  Through March 19th.

Left to right:  The Queen (La Reina), 2011; Tripping After Drums, 2010; Polytropos of many turns, 2009

(Though None of Us is Crying) or (Aunque Ninguno de los Tres esta Llorando), 2010

Behind Every Curtain, 2010

The Rook (La Torre), 2011

Turning into Puppets (Volviendose Marionetas), 2011; An age of discord and continual strife (back wall, left), 2011; In the theater of our wedding day (back wall, right), 2011

Turning into Puppets (Volviendose Marionetas), 2011; Inventory of the Queen (back wall, left), 2011; Feeding squirrels to the nuts (back wall, center), 2011; Rebellion lay in her way (back wall, right), 2011

Feeding squirrels to the nuts, 2011

Feeding squirrels to the nuts (close-up), 2011

You're over thrown - You're undone forever, 2011

You're over thrown - You're undone forever (close-up), 2011

A Game of Chess (story board), 2010

A scene from A Game of Chess, 2011

A scene from A Game of Chess, 2011

Martin Kersels | Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Los Angeles artist Martin Kersels creates sculptures, drawings, photos, videos and performance pieces that explore "the relationship of the body to the outside world... and the ways that physicality and psychology are intertwined," (from the press release).  Mitchell-Innes & Nash presents Kersels' Charms, Stacks & Flotsam, featuring hanging sculptures ("Charms"), pedestal sculptures ("Stacks"), and a series of drawings ("Flotsam") that intermingle skeletons, tables, chairs, coat racks, trees, and spiderwebs. 

Dangling from the gallery's ceiling are Kersels' "Charms," composed of found materials including old furniture, bottles, costumes, figurines, and scale models.  The piece Bald Eagle combines unlikely objects like a wool suit, a wooden chair, a lamp, a chain, and a rope to create a hovering Frankenstein-ish figure.  The term "Charm" can be interpreted in multiple ways — as a trinket or memento, a magical spell, or an attractive personality trait.  His "Stack" sculptures are made from a variety of books of different proportions, topics, and formats carefully arranged by color and size into gravity-defying structures or cut and conjoined like puzzle pieces.  The artist plays with words again by contrasting incompatible titles creating humorous juxtapositions.

Based in Sierra Madre, California, Kersels is a co-director of the Program in Art at CalArts.  His Charms, Stacks & Flotsam cleverly amalgamate dark, literary, natural, youthful, and pop elements together into whimsical and indeed, charming works.  Learn more at miandn.com.  Closes March 12th.

Charm (Party Clown), 2010

Charm (USS Constitution), 2011

Charm (Cloud Seeder), 2011, Stack (Nixon) in background, 2010

Charm (Bald Eagle), 2010

Left to right:  Flotsam (Chair Arterial System), 2010; Flotsam (Tables Skeleton), 2010

Stack (The Specialist), 2011

Stack (Four Days), 2010

Stack (My Thoughts), 2010, Flotsam (Tables Rib Jaw Hand) in background, 2010

Stack (Sea of Cortez), 2011

Lynda Benglis | New Museum and Salon 94 Freemans

Currently on view at the New Museum is the first New York retrospective of artist Lynda Benglis' work.  On display are works spanning the artist's forty-year career including samples of her early wax paintings and poured latex sculptures, pieces from her "Torsos" and "Knots" series, as well as some of her lesser known photography and video works that examine "notions of power, gender relations, and role playing" (from the New Museum website). 

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1941, Benglis moved to NYC in the mid-60s where she started off painting influenced by the Minimalism and Color Field movements.  In 1968 Benglis began working on her "Fallen Paintings," created by pouring brightly hued latex onto the floor, layering streams of color that beautifully flow, intersect, and overlap with one another like melting rainbows. Through the years, Benglis has added to the vast cache of materials she employs for her sculptures—polyurethane foam, beeswax, plaster, cast aluminum, bronze—and more recently, plastics, cast glass, paper and gold leaf.  Using the body and landscape as "primary references" Benglis creates vigorous, tactile, gestural artwork "with palpable ties to her body and its potential actions, which have often been described as 'frozen gestures.'" 

A separate darkened room in the museum displays the rarely exhibited installation Phantom (1971), five alien-like, polyurethane sculptures that ooze off the wall and glow in the dark.  Whether spilling across floors, jutting off walls, or seeping out of corners, Benglis' bold, dramatic works evoke energy and action.

Running concurrently with the New Museum retrospective is Fountains, a small exhibit on view around the corner at Salon 94 Freemans.  Benglis has been making water fountains for the past 25 years (from the show's press release) and Fountains showcases three of her recent bronze creations.  Also on view are a series of drawings created between 2007-2008 depicting wild bursts of water that "capture the same sense of physicality, fluidity and sensuality conveyed by the fountains."  Visit newmuseum.org and salon94.com for more information on the two shows.  Also, click here for my post on Benglis' late 2009 exhibit at Cheim & Read.  The New Museum exhibit runs through June 19th and Fountains closes on March 11th.

Below photos taken at Fountains exhibit at Salon 94 Freemans.

Left to right:  Storm Pattern, Summer Dreams, Thunderbird, all 2003

Summer Dreams, 2003

Left to right:  Fountain Drawing #6, 2007-8, Fountain Drawing #4, 2007-8

Verge Art Brooklyn

Verge Art Brooklyn was a wee bit confusing to navigate as it took place in six buildings around DUMBO and on multiple floors of said buildings.  111 Front Street seemed to be the center of activity since the Brooklyn Art Now: 2011 Survery Exhibiton was on display in various rooms of the second floor and resident galleries and art organizations were hosting shows here.  The connecting building, 55 Washington Street, housed Art Brooklyn Artist's Project Spaces where several local artists had set up booths showcasing their work.  When I was there Friday night, some artists had arranged themselves impressive, functional stations while others seemed to be still in the early stages of setting up, drilling and hammering away... 

Over at the street level venue of 81 Front Street, a sprinkling of international galleries had set up shop in the eerily quiet and ghost-town-like space where many booths seemed to have been abandoned.  One Main Street also had a ground floor venue in a rather raw, unfinished space.  Again, it was pretty quiet here and booths were left unmanned.  20 Jay Street's Suite 312 hosted an Open Call Exhibition which featured work by artists from across the U.S. as well as from Germany and Japan, but by this point, the chilly weather outside and the odd atmosphere inside the exhibition spaces had left me cold.  I knew I was over it when a nice couple mentioned to me and my friend that there was free beer over at the 81 Front Street venue and the lure of free booze couldn't tempt me back.

While I'm glad that Brooklyn got in on the action of Armory Arts Week and I got to see some exciting work (I especially liked pieces by Chiezo and Nick Yulman), there was an unenthusiastic and perhaps unorganized vibe throughout.  I hope this won't deter Verge Art Brooklyn from happening again next year.  Hopefully they'll be able to iron out the kinks by then.  Learn more at brooklynartfair.com.

Vladimir Davidenko, Skating Rink, 2009, part of Brooklyn Arts Council's 3 Points Define a Surface exhibit, 111 Front Street

Rosa Valado, In-Cloth, WG Gallery, 111 Front Street, Room 216

Rob de Oude, Hither Fro Yonder 12, Camel Art Space, 111 Front Street, Room 216

Vanessa with Newborn Baby, Airport Camp, part of Tent Life: Haiti at Wyatt Gallery, 111 Front Street

Cathedral in Ruins, Downtown Port-au-Prince, part of Tent Life: Haiti at Wyatt Gallery, 111 Front Street

Cathedral of the Lady of the Assumption, Port-au-Prince, part of Tent Life: Haiti at Wyatt Gallery, 111 Front Street

Eduardo Ventura, 111 Front Street, Room 224

Carlos Vergara, 111 Front Street, Room 224

Eric Doeringer, Boot Legs, 111 Front Street

Greg Lindquist, (Everyday Living Every Day Forgetting), BAC Gallery, 111 Front Street

Nick Yulman, Song Cabinet, 111 Front Street (when opened, the mechanized drawers play melodies created by the contents in each—bottles, shells, a xylophone...  When all four drawers are opened at once, the "instruments" play in harmony.)

A section of artist Chiezo's installation, 55 Washington Street

Chiezo, The burned memory, 55 Washington Street

Chiezo, Warrior Boy, 55 Washington Street (the artist provided super strong magnifying glasses to help see all the tiny details in the narrative series of drawings.)

Touko Okamura, tear drop, 2010, 81 Front Street

Top to bottom:  Eric Parnes, Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll in Farsi; Eric Parnes, Persian Carpet (skateboards), Stillife Gallery, One Main Street

Eric Parnes, Orient Luxury, Stillife Gallery, One Main Street

Ji Hyang Lee, Sweet sorrow, 2010, Gallery May june, One Main Street

Il Seon Ryu, Fragrance, 2010, Gallery May june, One Main Street

Salon Zurcher | Zurcher Studio

From February 28th - March 6th, the 2,500-square-foot Zurcher Studio at 33 Bleecker Street transformed itself into an "accessible and impressive, small but representative [art] fair."  Salon Zurcher served as a mini fair—an alternative option to all the attention and pandemonium of The Armory Show et al, showcasing work from galleries located in the Lower East Side and Brooklyn.  Participating galleries included: Audio Visual Arts (East Village), Feature Inc (LES), The Journal Gallery (Williamsburg), The Proposition (NoHo), Parker's Box (Williamsburg), Stephan Stoyanov Gallery (LES), and of course, Zurcher Studio.  Salon Zurcher was a convenient way to check out artwork from seven galleries in one open and calm space without having to hoof it around to various venues.  Learn more at galeriezurcher.com.

Left to right:  Sam Gordon, Untitled (sweepings), 2010; Mai Braun, NYT-December 13, 2005 (Beirut), 2007; Mamie Holst, Landscape Before Dying (The Knowledge), 2011, Feature Inc

Phil Argent, Untitled (Missing Link), 2008, Stephan Stoyanov Gallery

Jeff Gibson, Asylum definitions, 2010, Stephan Stoyanov Gallery

Left to right:  Dan Hays, Colorado Snow Effect No. 8; Dan Hays, Colorado Snow Effect No. 7, Zurcher Studio

Dan Hays, Colorado Snow Effect No. 8 (close-up), Zurcher Studio

Independent 2011

The second edition of Independent took place on three floors of the old DIA Chelsea space at 548 West 22nd Street from March 3rd-6th.  With over 40 international galleries presenting solo and group exhibits, the Independent's layout catered to "the spacial and curatorial concerns" of its participants.  Open to the public, the free-of-charge fair brought in huge crowds on its opening night Thursday, making snapping pics a little difficult.  Also tricky—the lack of labels, so identifying artists and works (and sometimes galleries) was a bit of a challenge.  Go to independentnewyork.com for more info and see the few photos I was able to shoot below.

David Salle, I've Got It All Up Here, 2010, Maureen Paley Gallery, London

A work by Josephine Meckseper, Elizabeth Dee Gallery

Meredyth Sparks, Extraction, 2010, Elizabeth Dee Gallery

A work by Swiss artist Miriam Cahn, Elizabeth Dee Gallery

David Shrigley, I'm Dead, 2011, Anton Kern Gallery

Klaus Weber, Large Dark Wind Chime, 2008, Andrew Kreps Gallery

Left to right:  Goshka Macuga, The White-House made from Moscow, 2010; Ricci Albenda, Universe (Benny)/Negative-Left, 2002, Andrew Kreps Gallery

 

ARMORY ARTS WEEK 2011 | NYC ART FAIRS

Armory Arts Week has officially kicked off with The Armory Show happening over on Piers 92 and 94 waaay over on the west side and a bunch of smaller art fairs taking place all around the city.  Check out Art Observed's handy-dandy breakdown of all the fairs and see Art Slant's Trong Nguyen's 24 Hour Fair Primer—the artist/writer's itinerary and strategy for taking in all the fairs, art, and parties over the next few days.

Also, i-Phone users should definitely download the FREE app Collectrium which allows visitors at the Fountain, Moving Image, Pulse, SCOPE, and VOLTA fairs to identify registered artworks just by pointing and clicking their phones. The app will provide information on the selected works (title, artist, date, dimensions, media, and more); allow users to add pieces to "My Collection"; allow users to email images and/or share selected works with friends on Facebook and Twitter; and provide contact information for the exhibiting gallery.  Collectrium users will also be able to find all info and schedules for the fairs, view the fairs' catalogues, and enter notes for works that are not registered on the app.  So cool!  I heart nerds...  Learn more about Collectrium at artdaily.org.  Most of the fairs run through Sunday, March 6th.

Screengrab from Art Daily.org

Laurie Simmons | Salon 94 Bowery

A major figure in the Pictures Generation group of artists, Laurie Simmons is known for using dolls, puppets, and ventriloquist dummies as "human surrogates" in her artwork.  Back in the fall of 2009, Simmons ordered a life-size Love Doll from Japan.  The creepily realistic Love Doll arrived to the artist's Connecticut home packed in a box wearing a flimsy, sheer slip.  Oddly (though I guess with a life-size, latex sex doll anything goes...), she also came with a small box containing an engagement ring and her genitalia (vag-in-a-box!).  The Love Doll: Days 1-30, on view at Salon 94 Bowery, documents Simmons' "photographic relationship" with the "human scale 'girl'"—the first large-scale, non-human figure the artist has shot.  Weighing just about 60 pounds, the doll proved difficult to work with—not because she's a diva, but because she is much larger and heavier than the subjects Simmons normally employs.  Her photographs show the doll in a variety of outfits posed "in an ongoing series of 'actions'" around the artist's house ranging from napping in the sun, playing with candy or costume jewelry, diving into a swimming pool, and hopping over a wall.  Things went so well with the doll, a year later, Simmons ordered another one—a second model for the artist and a friend to interact with her inanimate muse.  According to the show's press release, the Love Doll series not only references Simmons' previous "examinations of the dollhouse" in her work, "but also engages with adult fantasies and fetishes, infused with an even more potent sense of desire and regret."

The Love Doll series is like a fascinating peek into a haunted, life-size, Barbie Dream House.  The meticulously composed images are both innocent and disturbing at the same time.  You can also check out Simmons acting and playing house with her two daughters in Tiny Furniture, the debut feature film written and directed by the artist's older daughter, Lena Dunham.  Filmed in the family's Tribeca loft, the story follows a post-college, young woman (Dunham) as she moves back home with her artist mother (Simmons) and her over-achieving younger sister (Grace Dunham).  Proving that talent runs in the family, Dunham won the Best First Screenplay award at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards this past Saturday.  Learn more about Tiny Furniture at IMDb.com and check out a short Q&A with Simmons regarding the film at dwell.com.  Learn more about The Love Doll: Days 1-30 at salon94.com and at nyt.com. Through March 26th.

Day 1 / Day 27 (New in Box), 2010

Day 8 (Lying on Bed), 2010

Left to right:  Day 11 (Yellow), 2010; Day 14 (Candy), 2010

Left to right: Day 22 (20 Pounds of Jewelry), 2010; Day 24 (Underwater), 2010

Day 25 (The Jump), 2010